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Google Glass: More to it than meets the eye

Google Glass is basically a smart pair of eye glasses that is location-aware with an inbuilt camera and GPS. One can use head movements to scroll and click on information but it will also use voice input and output. The eyewear is a standalone product that runs on Android and is connected directly to the cloud. Check out this incredible video on what Google Glass can do. Industry watchers think that a mainstream product is likely to be available sometime in late 2013 or 2014 for the price of a smartphone.

While a lot of scientists have been working in the domain of wearable computing (check out Pranav Mistry’s Sixth Sense project from MIT), Google Glass has miniaturized the wearable computer. Google’s brand equity plus its deep pockets will ensure that the product will command widespread mainstream attention.

In an interview with Fast Company, Steve Lee, the project lead for Google Glass, suggests that wearable computers as contact lenses are a not-so-distant possibility. Can you imagine the broad potential then? For example, wearable computers could be extraordinarily useful in healthcare where they can be part of the continuous monitoring of health outcomes and alert individuals of remedial actions in real-time, if necessary. Recent reports suggest that Microsoft is testing functional contact lenses that can monitor blood sugar levels and even deliver medicine directly to the bloodstream through the Cornea. The future possibilities for wearable computers are abundant in a variety of domains. What we saw (and marveled) in Star Trek is now fast becoming a reality. Exciting times are ahead.